A quick video about stainless steel braided hose.
The project Octavia has stainless steel braided hoses for the oil feed and oil return. This is great.
Unfortunately, they caused some problems due to bad routing. The issues being wearing through the high-pressure hose for the AC and damaging the silicone intake hose before the turbo.
Like I said, bad routing caused these issues, not a fault of the braided hoses as such.
The oil feed hose runs around the side of the engine. There is a nest of cables, connectors and hoses in the area the hose runs through. And while there are no problems, there were scuffs of the plastic sleeves for the cables.
Not a problem but a sign there was some movement between the steel braided line and the cable.
So What’s The Issue?
The steel braided hoses are not an issue in themselves, if they are routed correctly. The issue is you have to be so careful with everything that might touch the hose also. This can be time consuming if not impossible if the braided line is running through a congested area.
So honestly, I can’t recommend stainless braided hoses. In an engine bay.
Braided hoses are used because they are abrasion resistant eg if they rub against a piece of bodywork, the bodywork will get damaged. They can also withstand impacts from things like stones. And they have a high pressure rating.
When it comes to engine bays, abrasion resistance is not an issue if the routing is done normally. And getting hit by flying objects is also not an issue in an engine bay.
What I’m trying to say is the key benefits of using stainless steel braided hoses are irrelevant in an engine bay. A hose running under the car, sure, stainless steel braid all day long.
Yes, they have a higher burst point than rubber hose and possible last longer. But if I need that in an engine bay, if I need it, I think I’d go nylon braided hoses instead. Similar if not the same pressure rating as steel braided hose but without the destruction to things in the surrounding area.
But honestly, I’m happy with good quality rubber hoses.